Ray Foote
Ray Foote

Leadership as an artistic practice is the driving force behind Ray’s work. For over three decades, he has been dedicated to creating organizations where structure, spontaneity, and artistry coexist, where innovation emerges from the dance between design and discovery, and where value creation becomes an act of collective artistry.

Ray Foote

Coach & Facilitator

Bio

As an executive coach, entrepreneur, and musician, Ray helps leaders orchestrate possibility. He works with those who sense there’s a deeper way to grow their organizations—one that honors strategic precision and creative freedom.

Drawing on his experience in systems thinking, entrepreneurship, and performance, Ray helps leaders recognize and strengthen the patterns that make their organizations uniquely valuable. His approach combines artistic sensibility with practical business acumen, demonstrated through his role as CEO and co-founder of an award-winning brand experience company. There, he helped global leaders like Apple, Google, Nike, and Pepsi find their authentic voice through music and sound, learning firsthand how organizations can maintain creative vitality while scaling.

Ray is deeply committed to nurturing the next generation of creative leaders, regularly working with emerging artists and entrepreneurs to build organizations that generate multiple forms of value. This work keeps him connected to the ever-evolving patterns of innovation.

His approach to leadership development explores essential questions: How can we create organizations that honor both structure and spontaneity? What becomes possible when we view leadership as an artistic practice? How can we design systems that enable natural growth?

As a musician, builder, and inventor, Ray brings a craftsman’s attention to detail and an artist’s eye for possibility to every engagement. He finds joy in helping leaders discover their unique artistry in building organizations that matter, creating value that resonates deeply and ripples outward to enrich the larger systems they’re part of.”

Hear What Ray's Clients Say About Their Work Together

"I came to the session as my team was growing with a mandate to grow even more. I imagined I could solve everything with a perfectly formulated spreadsheet, but Ray immediately talked me down and asked me to relate my experience back to something in my life. He reframed what I had been referring to as a 'reactive' approach as a strength where I let previous moves inform the next rather than fall when my original plan hadn't worked out."

Christie Wright

Automattic

"Ray pulled me through a difficult time. I did the work, but Ray was my guide. He helped me see what I couldn’t on my own. I’m in a much better place today because of him. The lessons he taught me are timeless. I continue to benefit from them and so do the people I share them with."

Ian Hathaway

Co-Founder and General Partner of Far Out Ventures

"I came to the session as my team was growing with a mandate to grow even more. I imagined I could solve everything with a perfectly formulated spreadsheet, but Ray immediately talked me down and asked me to relate my experience back to something in my life. He reframed what I had been referring to as a 'reactive' approach as a strength where I let previous moves inform the next rather than fall when my original plan hadn't worked out."

Christie Wright

Automattic

"Ray pulled me through a difficult time. I did the work, but Ray was my guide. He helped me see what I couldn’t on my own. I’m in a much better place today because of him. The lessons he taught me are timeless. I continue to benefit from them and so do the people I share them with."

Ian Hathaway

Co-Founder and General Partner of Far Out Ventures

Reboot Podcast Episodes featuring Ray

Wisdom for Work #16 – The Brightest Bulb Challenge – with Ray Foote & Andy Crissinger

Wisdom for Work #16 // August 1, 2023

Wisdom for Work #16 – The Brightest Bulb Challenge – with Ray Foote & Andy Crissinger

In this Wisdom for Work, Andy Crissinger & Ray Foote describe the Brightest Bulb Challenge and discuss strategies to help leaders thrive as they transition from maker to leader. They make the case for conducting time and outcome audits and provide guidance for managing energy and mindshare.

Wisdom for Work #11 – Career Transitions at Midlife – with Jim Marsden, Ray Foote, Marty Janowitz & Jerry Colonna

Wisdom for Work 11 // June 22, 2022

Wisdom for Work #11 – Career Transitions at Midlife – with Jim Marsden, Ray Foote, Marty Janowitz & Jerry Colonna

In this conversation, Reboot Coaches Jim Marsden, Marty Janowitz, Ray Foote, and Jerry Colonna sit down to explore career transitions at midlife. Together, they describe their unique midlife experiences and share what was bubbling up for them at the time.

Check Out Ray's Written Work

Real Life Mindfulness: Three Reframes for Entrepreneurial Problems

Real Life Mindfulness: Three Reframes for Entrepreneurial Problems

Stop asking "can" and start asking "how"! This simple shift in questioning unlocks hidden possibilities and boosts problem-solving. Ray shares advice for leading with curiosity and igniting success:

9 Frameworks for Leading and Managing People

9 Frameworks for Leading and Managing People

Essential models and ways of thinking for managing people and interpersonal spaces with more grace and ease.

A Formula for Trust: Sincerity, Competence, and Character

A Formula for Trust: Sincerity, Competence, and Character

Did you know that there’s a formula for Trust? Often, we think of trust in binaries: either we trust someone or we don’t. However, the formula for trust is more nuanced than we might think.